Peter Moores never picked Sajid Mahmood during his time as the England coach, but now that fate has conspired to throw them together at Lancashire, Mahmood is anxious to find out why. Mahmood is regularly championed by Duncan Fletcher, the coach who did pick him, as a potential England fast bowler against Australia this year, and was today given a fighting chance by being named in England's 25-man performance squad for the summer.

But first Mahmood must hear from Moores, a coach with whom he built a good rapport at the England Academy, yet who never entrusted him with a Test cap during a diligent but ultimately traumatic time as England coach.

"Pete is a really good coach and I've nothing against him for leaving me out," Mahmood said, "but it'll be interesting to have a proper chat with him to understand in detail what I would need to do with my game to get into the England team if he was still coach. I spoke to Pete briefly at the training camp in Abu Dhabi just before the India Tests last year. He said the only thing I needed to work on was my consistency and hitting good areas at pace. I knew that anyway. It is an accuracy thing. Pace has never been a problem."

Moores has already implanted his high-energy coaching style upon Lancashire, his zest restored, his relationship with his county captain, Glen Chapple, looking strong. But one suspects that the hurt from Kevin Pietersen's condemnation of his coaching style still lingers. He takes great pride in his rapport with his players. Pietersen's comments devastated him.

What an irony it would be if in the coming weeks he delivered to his successor as England coach an Ashes fast bowler in the best form of his life, a fast bowler who might even mean that they could go an entire week without worrying about Steve Harmison's state of mind. Mahmood, who has an immediate chance to make an impact when he plays for MCC against the champion county, Durham, in the traditional season's opener at Lord's on Thursday, has rejoined the Lancashire squad late after touring New Zealand with England Lions but he says: "I have only been back for a week and you can see an improvement in everything. All our training sessions are as close to match intensity as possible. It is hard work and he has made a lot of changes but the guys are enjoying it. He has a lot of ideas and he enjoys a challenge."

In Moores' first season in charge of England Mahmood's summer was disrupted by a double hernia operation and then by shin splints. "That messed things up a bit," he recalled. "I have had time to reflect upon what I need to improve on. I think my game has moved forward mentally, physically and tactically. I am a lot wiser really and aware of what is going on. When I was younger I would just try to bowl it quick and see where it got me."

Mahmood's first-class figures do not state an irrefutable case. In his troubled season in 2007 he took 30 championship wickets at 32 runs apiece. Last year he took 35 at 32. There were statistical reasons aplenty for Moores, who unlike Fletcher placed great store by an education in county cricket, not to add to his eight Test and 25 ODI caps. He overlooked Mahmood's raw pace and turned instead to the know-how of Ryan Sidebottom. "Saj is going through a really positive process," Moores said, "a bit like the one Sidebottom went through — he played early, got an opportunity, saw what was going on and went back to county cricket to hone his skills. I have watched him in the nets this week and he is bowling well and he just has to keep progressing. He is a young man getting ready for his next England chance."

One thing is certain: Mahmood is making a more assiduous attempt to learn how to bowl fast than he did to learn the guitar, something that he dabbled with when his career was at a low. "For a guitar you have to have a lot of patience. A lot of guys at Lancashire play the guitar so I went to the music shop and bought a beginner's guide and DVD. Three half-an-hour sessions and I thought let's play a song, and nope, nothing. So I put it back in the wardrobe. It's been there for two years now. If anyone wants to buy a guitar then get in touch."

Lancashire are often tipped to win the championship outright for the first time since 1934. This year an unproven squad does not inspire such faith. It could be that Mahmood's ambitions, far from propelling him back into the England side for the Ashes, will instead ease an awkward first season for Moores.

"Everyone will see a slightly different me – one who can hit an area rather than just spray it around. It's good to play in games like this opening one at Lord's because there are always a few selectors hanging around," Mahmood added. "There have been a lot of England players who come in, have a go, get dropped and come back and have a better go again. I'm no different. I just need to focus on getting wickets. I will be disappointed if I can't do it this year. I know the Ashes are only just around the corner but I think I am not too far away."